Fontana Man Kills 2, Then Self

A Fontana man facing 180 days in county jail for taking and then crashing a family car killed his father and 12-year-old nephew inside their home over the weekend before shooting himself to death, authorities said Monday.

When police arrived at the home Sunday afternoon, they found a “pretty messy, very bloody” crime scene in several rooms and initially believed the incident was a triple homicide, Fontana police spokesman Mark Weissman said.

That changed when a San Bernardino County coroner’s investigator turned over the body of Jose Carlos Ascencio Jr., 18, and found him holding a .22-caliber rifle with his finger on the trigger, Weissman said. Until that point, investigators had not disturbed Ascencio’s body.

“[Ascencio Jr.] obviously killed himself after killing the other two,” Weissman said.

Police said Ascencio had shot his 55-year-old father, Jose Carlos Ascencio Sr. His nephew, Jose Perez, died of upper body trauma, but police said they weren’t certain whether the injuries were the result of gunshots.

Police said the killings and suicide apparently took place sometime between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning at the family home in the 17600 block of Ceres Avenue. Perez’s mother -- the killer’s sister -- discovered the bodies Sunday afternoon.

The junior Ascencio and his father had recently argued over the son’s arrest for taking his father’s Mazda on Oct. 22 and then becoming involved in a hit-and-run collision, police said. His father reported the theft to the Fontana police, Weissman said.

On Nov. 6, Ascencio pleaded guilty to felony unlawful driving, or taking of a vehicle, police said.

When he failed to appear on his sentencing date Friday, an arrest warrant was issued by Judge Barry Plotkin. Ascencio was scheduled to receive a sentence of 180 days in county jail -- to be served on weekends -- plus making restitution, authorities said. Neighbors described the Ascencio home as a volatile residence known for frequent police visits. Weissman confirmed that Fontana police “have been out to that house several times for noise-disturbance calls.”

“Snap” Johnson, a friend of Jose Carlos Ascencio Jr., said the teenager had “some self-esteem issues, but he was basically a regular 18-year-old kid .... He loved his family. This has happened out of the blue.”

Joey Davalos, 20, a neighbor of the Ascencios’, said the father showed obvious love for his son, perhaps to the point of spoiling him. “Anything the kid needed, the dad made sure he got it,” Davalos said. He added that the youth had two serious emotional blows within months. His mother, Maria, died in September, and his older brother was jailed a short time later.

Davalos said he was harshly questioned by officers about the deaths and was unhappy that police could not quickly determine that the deaths were a murder-suicide.

Weissman said it is police procedure to not touch bodies upon entry to a crime scene. “This first appeared to be a triple homicide,” Weissman said. “As a police department, we have a duty to question possible suspects.”